HYDERABAD: Bharatanatyam performer-choreographer from Hyderabad, Nandini Jayakumar will be hosting Season 2 of JAYA TV’s prestigious, national award-winning Bharatanatyam competition Thaka Dimi Thaka Jonu. The alumnus of IIT Madras who is currently a research assistant at the London School of Economics, speaks to Cinema Express about shouldering the responsibility of such a show.
For the initiative, the show has been hosted previously by famous actor-dancers like Shobana, Bhanupriya, Sukanya, Sudha Chandran, Indraja and several others. “I am the only dancer from Hyderabad and also one of the youngest to have ever hosted the show. Apart from this, I myself am a two-time winner of this competition,” says an elated Nandini.
So, asked what it is like to host the show and how it’s different from any other project she’s taken up or helmed before, the danseuse says, “My past work in dance has mostly been around performance, choreography, and teaching. I have had the chance to bring some of these elements into the show and adapt them to the unique medium of TV. In this regard, the show has helped me broaden my horizons, and also pick up new skills that are specific to hosting.”
Nandini adds that the show is very close to her heart because she had won it twice before — the singles category in 2010 and doubles in 2007. “This makes it all the more exciting to return to the show as a host.” She believes that the fact that several biggies have done this before brings in a lot of responsibility. “I had to prepare well for the show, especially because I had the responsibility of living up to the standards of reputed artists who had previously hosted the show. I had to speak spontaneously and share my technical knowledge creatively with a wide audience. I am very thankful for the guidance I received from the show’s director Kalaimamani Dr. Radhika Shurajit and assistant director Churchill Pandian,” she says adding that the show has been a big learning curve. “The biggest has been to be confident in expressing myself and to develop my own unique style of hosting.”
Nandini sure hopes to to bring her freshness to show. “My role is not limited to being a typical host in a reality show. This season has a new special audience segment that has never been attempted before — wherein I, the host, experiment with Bharatanatyam movements to popular film songs. This was very challenging because I had to choreograph on the spot (within five minutes) and perform in a way that suits the contemporary tunes of film music, the show’s classicism, and the TV medium’s requirements,” she reveals.
Nandini loves to experiment — choreography, music, themes, or costumes — but of course, within the art form’s confines. “I intend to push my creativity and apply this in the new segment. I believe this will make classical dance accessible and more relatable to a younger audience. This was one of the main motivations for introducing this segment,” she stresses.
The dancer’s solo Bharatanatyam production RASA — The Essence will soon be premiered at the end of this month in Chennai. The production celebrates the essence and aesthetics of the Bharatanatyam repertoire and will feature her original choreographies for six famous compositions. “I am also working on a new contemporary theme-based solo Bharatanatyam production which will be premiered in 2023,” she signs off.